Cable-railway gripe



(Non/10am.)

. F. W. HOPPS.

CABLE RAILWAY GRIPE. No. 250,815. Patented Dec.'13, 1881.

FRANK XV. HOPPS, OF SAN'FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

CABLE-RAILWAY GRIPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 250,815, datedDecember` 13, 1881,

Application lcd March 26, 1&81.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK W. HoPPs, ot' the city and county of SanFrancisco, State of California, have invented an Improvement inGable-Railway Gripes; and I hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to certain improvements in the gripes which areemployed upon railways on which the cars are propelled by connectingthem with an endless traveling cable which is driven within a tunnel ortube beneath the track.

It consists in forming the gripe of twojaws, which are made to approachor to recede from each other by any suitable mechanism, andin mountingon the meeting sides of said jaws a series of rubber or other toughelastic rollers, which are compressed upon the cable moving between themby the forcing of the jaws together. These rollers tirst gripe the cablewhile still revolving with such a pressure as to start the car. They areplaced so nearly together in theirjaws that when they are considerablycompressed against the cable they will be caused to meet and bindagainst each other by the consequent Hattenin g or elongation in thatdirection, and thus produce so much friction that they will hold thecable rmly enough to cause the car to be moved by it.

My invention further consists in other details of construction.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a more complete explanationof my invention, Figure l is an enlarged view of my gripe. Fig. 2 is anend view of the gripe with a tranverse view ot the cable, showing thecable-support ing roller and the rollers over which the gripe passeswhen on a curve. Fig. 3 is a front view of the cable and the rollerswhich guide the gripe when on a curve. Fig. 4. is aview of a singleroller with its end plates. Fig. 5 is a sectional edge view ot' thegriper, eccentric, and lever.

In the working of cable-railways considerable difficulty has beenexperienced on account of the rapid wear of the cables, caused by use ofrigid metallic shoes upon the jaws of the gripes, which are connectedwith the carsland by which they are set in motion. Where the duty issevere, as upon steep hills, these cables No model.)

are frequently stranded and worn so as to be unfit for use in from sixtyto ninety days.

My .invention is intended to preserve the cable from this wear, and laccomplish it by the use of rubber or other soft, tough material whichis used as shoes. In the present case I make these shoes in the form ofcylinders or rollers A, which turn onjournals in the jaws B C ofthegripe. The ends ofthe rollers are preferably made conical, and lit intocup-shaped disks o, which have small projecting lugs to entercorresponding holes in the ends ot' the rollers. The disks lit over theaxles of the rollers, and are forced up so as to be compressed againstthe ends of the rollers. Theserollers are mounted closely together ineach jaw, and any suitable number-as three, or five, or moremay be used.The space between the rollers is sufficient to allow them to rotatefreely and independent of each other when not greatly compressed, butwhen the jaws ot' the gripe are brought together, and the rollerscompressed upon the cable, there will be a considerable resistance totheir rotation, which in creases with the compression until it issuflicientto gradually start the car. The compression is then increasedby forcing thejaws still nearer together until the rollers are soflattened that those in each jaw meet by their eX- tension sidewise, andthe friction thus developed prevents any further rotation, and causesthem to so gripe the cable as to move the car with all the power needed.The movablejaw B ot' the gripe has a slide moving in guides in the usualmanner, and is operated by a cam, eccentric,`or crank, D, which isconnected with the slide by a rod, E.

The operating-lever F is tted to the operating-eccentric D by a bolt,t', which passes through a hole, c, in an arc,`G. When the lever isthrown forward or back it is usually held in place by a curved rack anda pawl or similar device. When the parts become worn so that therequired gripe is not produced by throwing the lever to the usual point,thelever maybe turned back alittle by'removing the bolt and putting itback one of the holes a. This keeps the adjustment properly regulated atall times.

In passing around curves the cable is guided by horizontal rollers orpulleys H, and when IOO the gripe reaches the curveit is necessary thatwhile holding the cable, it should travel in the exact curve of the slotin the roadway through which its shank passes, so as not to bind uponeither side. For this purpose rollers I stand vertically above and belowthe horizontal cablepulleys H, following the inside line ofthe curve.

Upon the upper and lower jaws of the gripe are bolted plates J, whichcurve outward, as

shown in Fig. 2, and they extend the entire length ofthe front ofthejaws. When the gripe arrives at the curve these plates will ride uponthe vertical rollers I, extending across a sufficient number ot them toride evenly, and preserve an equal distance from the line of the slot,thus passing any curve without complicated mechanism.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The elastic or rubber rollers, A, mounted in the jawsy of acable-gripe, so as toA be compressed upon the cable and against eachother, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

2. In aeable-gripe having the jaws B andC moving toward each other bythe action` of a cam or eccentric, D, the lever F, having its lower endxed to the eccentric, in combination with the are having holes a, andthe bolt passing through the lever andinto said holes, substantially asherein described.

3. The elastic griping roller A, mounted uponaxles supported in themovable jaws B C, in combination with Athe cup-shaped end plates, o,substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

FRANK W. HPPS.

Witnesses:

S. H. NoURsE, FRANK A. BROOKS.

Lis

